Opinions on my custom gaming PC build

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mbunn1993

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Jun 1, 2015
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So I'm putting together a parts list (using pcpartpicker) for my new PC build that I would like opinions on. I built a PC about 6-7 years ago with my moms boyfriend (I am now 22), and do remember it not being so hard, but this will be the first on my own. I have replaced just about everything in my current PC (mobo, memory, cpu, heatsink, multiple gpus..) so I think it will be fairly simple/fun. I've spent quite a few hours resarching and reading reviews on different parts and have finally put a list together I think I could move forward with, but would like others thoughts first.

Here is what I have together so far (On a $1500 budget) -

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/mbunn1993/saved/#view=8QHKHx

The only two parts I'm pretty much set on getting are the CPU and (probably) GPU. I would like some opinions on the motherboard, case, memory, psu... basically everything. Are they worth the money? Are there higher quality ones for cheaper? (or same price.) Could I get a cheaper part to put toward another higher quality one? Particularly the mobo and case..

I'm not a hardcore gamer, or hardcore overclocker (although i will be overclocking), but this is my chance to put a PC together that I can hopefully game on, on a high level for a good amount of time. I want a PC I don't have to worry about performance issues 6 months from now. I probably don't notice all the bells and whistles of the components that they have (or lack) so that is why i have come here to see if there might be better options (mind the $1500 budget)
 
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MystoPigz

MystoPigz

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May 14, 2015
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Change the ram to DDR3-1600, like the G.Skill Sniper 8GB DDR3-1600 ram kit. Also, try to get a power supply from Seasonic, Antec, XFX, or Corsair (If you are getting a power supply from Corsair, avoid the CX and CS series). They make quality power supplies with great capacitors (For the power supply tier list, go here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html). Otherwise, awesome build!
 
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esco_sid

esco_sid

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May 11, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1463.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-01 20:10 EDT-0400
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

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Sep 20, 2014
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He can use 1866 if he wants. The 1866 need replacement later than the 1600, in the future.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($337.99 @ Directron)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($7.52 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.59 @ Directron)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($523.20 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Perixx MX-2000B Wired Laser Mouse ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1459.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-01 20:18 EDT-0400

This is a good alternative.

Changes:
Swapped i5 for i7
Changed Hyper 212 EVO for a better cooler (Cryorig H7)
Changed Mobo
Changed Ram Brand
Changed Case from Full Tower to Mid Tower
Changed Power Supply
Changed Optical Drive

It's only 20 dollars over your original build, and shipping is part of the $1459.70. That is the total cost you'll need to pay (excluding tax).

If you really want, you could SLI or change the 980 out for a 980ti, but the 980ti will be 100 dollars more.
 
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mbunn1993

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Jun 1, 2015
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Wow, these were amazingly quick responses. The two builds above posted to me both look fantastic. They have much cheaper cases (Knew I could downgrade.. but wasn't sure about a quality budget case) and seem fantasic. One question I have about BOTH builds, is the 1st has an upgraded video card, and the other an upgraded CPU. Which would be better for gaming? Would it not be the upgraded GPU opposed to upgraded CPU? As far as what I've read the i5/i7 doesn't make much of a difference (if any). Am I wrong on this?

Similar cases, memory, same PSUs. $40 difference in mobos. Would anyone care to elaborate on the importance of a good mobo? Or the differences between the two suggested? Both look fantasic to me and it seems I may want to scratch my build and go with a combination of two. Any furthur suggestions?
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

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Sep 20, 2014
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It's more worth it to keep your CPU higher, imo, because it will last longer in the long run. It would also be more harder swapping out the CPU to upgrade it. With the graphics card, you just unscrew it and take it out of it's slot, then you plop another in.

Replacing the CPU, you would need to unscrew the cooler, carefully take it out, and then add a new CPU, apply new thermal paste, and then put it in. Then you would have to screw the CPU cooler back in.

As for the resale value, the graphics card would have a higher resell value, because buying a used GPU is similar to buying a new one as long as it's unscathed. You can use ebay for this. It would also sell a lot faster than if you were to sell a used CPU. You can sell your GPU again for maybe at most $80 less in ~2-3 years.

In the long run, the better CPU is better.

And plus, you stated you're not a hard-core gamer, so you wouldn't need the 980 ti. The 980 is good enough.
 
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mbunn1993

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Jun 1, 2015
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So, using a combination of the three builds, I put together a new list.. Went with i5 with the 980 ti card. The cheaper memory, my original mobo (reviews weren't that great on the suggested ones, but am open to others) the 300r case (for better airflow), the better CPU fan, the recommended PSU... but it is definently more expensive, so I all together got rid of my HDD, and upgraded to a single 256 SSD (should be plenty. I can store my pictures/videos on my old cpu or family laptop and get a new HDD in the future if needed). I also changed all the parts to newegg as I would like to go through one site

What do you guys think of this build now? Its sitting at $1530 which is obviously over, but I dont see much more I can do

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mbunn1993/saved/#view=4mbD4D
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

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Sep 20, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($337.99 @ Directron)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($7.52 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($74.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Perixx MX-2000B Wired Laser Mouse ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1514.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-01 23:54 EDT-0400

This one should be the best.

However, please note that this motherboard only supports CrossFire, not SLI. Even if those PCIE slots are convincing, you can't SLI.

I also replaced both of your hard drives for a Hybrid one.

It's basically a SSD+HDD. It's a HDD with around 8GB (I believe) of solid state. That 8GB sort of acts like RAM, except for your hard drive.

You will have 1 TB of SSHD storage. The bootup times average around between an SSD's and HDD's. You can see some YouTube videos for yourself.

The shipping is included in the price, too.
 
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mbunn1993

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Jun 1, 2015
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Sorry for the late response. This looks great. My only questions would be about the motherboard. It says the memory holds 1600, but doesn't list 1866. Does that mean it wouldnt support this memory? Would I be able to overclock with it if I wanted too?
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

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Sep 20, 2014
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Sorry, I made a mistake. If you were to put 1866 Ram in there, it would under-clock itself to 1600. You can switch it out if you would like.
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

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But with an SSD + Hard Drive Combo, you're paying an extra 50-60 dollars just for 80 GB extra than the Hybrid and 15 second faster boot-up times.
 
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Archaic59

Archaic59

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Jan 6, 2015
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I might put a SSHD in a $600 budget system, but certainly not a $1500 gaming beast. It just isn't right.
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

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Sep 20, 2014
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Here's the final.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($252.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($7.39 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Perixx MX-2000B Wired Laser Mouse ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1466.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-02 22:26 EDT-0400

Thermal paste is optional, as the cooler comes with it's own.
 
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IAmTheTofu

IAmTheTofu

Honorable
Sep 20, 2014
1,024
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11,960
Final v2 xD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($275.48 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($7.39 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Perixx MX-2000B Wired Laser Mouse ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1492.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-02 22:39 EDT-0400

I don't see the need to make the board ATX. The only difference is that that the ATX version only has 1 PCIE and 3 PCIs. Meanwhile, the mATX has 2 PCIEs and no PCIs

Plus, the ATX is more expensive.
 
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